Only a Mother Could Love
by The Thing in the Cave
Summary: Nicky has been has had a recurring dream problem since she was born, and she finally told Gwen. She agrees, but they both realize that this could be bigger than they thought. Sequel to My Friend Supergirl; read that first. T for safety. Some Gwevin.
1. Heat

I finally got around to writing this. Sorry it took so long, but my computer had problems, and I was trying to come up with ways to fix gaping plot holes this thing is going to pull out of the Null Void. I think I'm almost there with that. ;D I apologize for the quality, but this was the only way I could get where I wanted. The rest will be better, I promise.

**DISCLAIMER: I only own Nicky. No one else. Even Dr. Phil. Surprising, isn't it?**

* * *

_Green light... Steam... _

_Smell of smoke..._

_Running, running, running..._

_Heat... So much heat... Can't go on, burning up..._

I willed one eye to open, and the dim light washed away my nightmare. Anyone else would have woken in a cold sweat, hyperventilating and wide awake, but since that was about the _three hundredth and forty-fifth _time I had that freaking dream, I was unphased. But still awake.

I crawled out of bed, groping in the dark for my clock. I found it, finally remembered to turn on the lights, and read it. 5:56. Not long until my alarm would go off. I shrugged. For minutes would be plenty of time.

I pulled out my dream journal. (It sounds a lot nerdier than it actually is, trust me.) Sure, it was just a glorified school planner, but whatever. I opened to the current week and, in the first line for Thursday, wrote _Heat, _which is my name for that specific dream. I looked at the count for Monday, I realize how off I was in my earlier complaint.

"Okay, maybe this is the three hundredth and seventy-third time..." I muttered, scribbling that down. "And did I get any new details? No! This is totally getting out of hand..."

I know what you're thinking: how the heck can you have the same dream 373 times? Well, I have three things to tell you:

1) I've probably had it more than that- I started recording when I was eight, so I only have seven years of dreams here.

2) Another one of my dreams, called_ Methane_, I've gone through over 450 times.

3) As for the actual question, I have absolutely no clue. I just know that whatever is causing it, it's getting worse.

I used to have these dreams twice, maybe three times a week. But for the past month, starting the day that those monsters attacked the school and almost killed Gwen, I've gotten one a day or more. I've been looking for a cure online, but so far I'm unsuccessful. (Probably because I'm scared to interact with people I don't know online, so I can't ask directly. I'm such a wimp.)  
Just as I finished scribbling everything down, my alarm started blaring. I yawned and faked some other tired noises, just to trick my mom into thinking I sleep like a normal person, and all the while trying to decide whether to get dressed or not. I decided not to, and headed downstairs.

---

"Gwen, that's awesome."

"I know," she replied. "Just two days and I'll be walking like everyone else."

"Although, I am going to miss leaving class early..." I added.

"Whatever, two extra minutes per class aren't going to kill us," she said. "Especially with finals coming up- I don't think they would let me out then anyway, crutches or not."

I chuckled, swapping her math notebooks for her English one. Everyone was in an awesome mood- it was late June, school would be out in less than two weeks, and everything had pretty much returned to normal. It would be perfect if it wasn't for finals, which were coming up in a few days. Gwen and I felt pretty good about them, which was odd, but whatever.

"Want to come over tonight?" I asked. "We could quiz each other."

"Sure," she agreed, "when?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll be home all night." We walked (or in her case, crutched) into English and sat down. We were nearly late, and the teacher started talking almost as soon as we entered the room. That was it for planning.

---

"Why did King Phillip the second of Spain send the French Armada to England?"

I guessed. "Because he wanted their money?"

"No. He was tired of Elizabeth being better than him and her pirates stealing all of his gold from the New World, and wanted England for himself," Gwen explained.

"So I was right!" I shouted.

"Not really..."

"Whatever." I flopped down on the bed. "I'm officially brain-dead. Can we take a break?"

"Yes," she agreed immediately, tossing her book behind her back. "Besides, I have to leave soon."

"Aw, why?" I wined. "Can't you have a sleepover or something?"

"I'll go ask my mom about it," she said, picking herself up and grabbing the phone. She went into the hallway to talk, because she's cool like that, and was back in less than a minute.

"I can stay," she declared, sitting beside me once more. "But I'm pooped. Can fun wait until morning? I just want to sleep."  
"Agreed." And we commenced setting up a mattress on the floor for Gwen to sleep on. It was done in a matter of minutes, then we fell sound asleep even faster.

_Green light... Steam... _

_Smell of smoke..._

_Running, running, running..._

_Heat... So much heat... Can't go on, burning up..._

_I would wake up. That's how it worked._

_But apparently not this time._

_Everything snapped into sudden clarity- the smooth metal walls of the hallway, the flashing red alarms, the billowing towers of smoke around me. This wasn't supposed to happen. It always stopped there. Something had gone horribly wrong. And for the first time in years, I felt truly afraid of my nightmare._

_I flew through the hallway, coughing like mad but never lessening my pace. Pure muscle memory guided me. Soon I came to a complete halt in front of a thick, round door. I pounded on it, pouring my blood, sweat and tears into the effort. I cried out words I didn't understand. Finally, when I was near my breaking point, the doors slid open._

_Behind it stood two hulking figures, obscured by the odd lighting. They must have been three times my size at least, with muscular arms, threatening claws, and a giant mass of something hanging from their face. But I wasn't scared; quite the contrary, I was relieved._

_I ran too them, squeezing the left one's leg, sobbing into their skin. I looked up at the one on the left, and saw it's lips part. Then it said-_

"Nicky? Nicky, wake up!"

My eyes shot open. I was shaking all over, breathing shallowly, images from the dream flashing before my eyes. But between the flashes, I could see Gwen, her face warped with genuine worry.

"Nicky, are you okay?" she whispered, putting her hand on my forehead. I couldn't speak. I still felt the smoke stinging my skin, but not the feeling of comfort from the figure. It was too much. I had never handled stress well, but this was a whole new level. Then I realized that I was silently crying.

Her maternal instincts kicked in at the site of my tears. She sat beside me and gently wiped the tears off my cheek. I squirmed; I couldn't decide if the touch was soothing or foreign. "Don't worry, you're fine. It was just a dream- I think. Was it a dream?"

Somehow I managed a nod. My breathing was becoming more even.

"Like I said, you have nothing to worry about," she replied. "Can you tell me what it was about?"

"Yes," I choked out, my voice worse than I thought it would be. I told her everything: the smoke, the confusion, even the strange figures and what I felt when I saw them. She would totally think I was crazy after this.

"I've been having these dreams for as long as I can remember," I admitted. "But they never go on that long. They always stop at the same point. Until now…"

She stopped me. "I've got it." She must have seen my eyes getting watery again. "This might be serious. Have you told your parents yet?"

"No."

"A doctor?"

"Nope."

"Anyone?"

"Just you."

She was quiet for a moment, either thinking or holding back. "How about we wait until morning. Want to go back to sleep?"

"No!" I shouted, before I could control my volume. I shut my trap, listened for footsteps, and then lowered my voice. "I don't want to risk that again."

"Alright, maybe we should deal with this now. Could you turn on your computer?"

I stumbled out of bed and booted it up like she asked. Getting that old dinosaur to work took my mind off the situation for a second. But only that long. I gave up my seat to her, and she started googling. I sat on the bed, waiting.

"I found Dr. Phil's site," she reported almost immediately. Ah, the wonders of the internet. "Listen to this; Nightmares occur way into the REM cycle and don't involve moving, whereas night terrors occur during the first two hours of sleep and involve moving around."

I looked at the clock- 3:38. We went to sleep around 9:00. "Great, I had it way after I fell asleep and I moved around a ton. My dreams defy logic- that makes me feel so much better."

"It also says that nightmares are the body's way of telling you something."

"You mean my body's been trying to give me the same message every other night since I was born? Not likely."

She turned away from me and suppressed a yawn. She looked way to tired to take any of my sass. I sighed apologetically.

"Gwen, go to bed and get some sleep," I ordered as gently as I could, but I still managed to sound like a mom. "I'll keep searching."

She didn't protest. Soon she was back in bed, and I was typing and clicking to the rhythm of her breath, the only other sound in the room. I worked valiantly for hours on end, becoming more intrigued and more worried as time passed. By the time Gwen began to stir around 7:00, I had narrowed it down to two options.

Option #1 was that I had some sort of rare mental illness that I wasn't able to pinpoint.

Option #2… Well, I'll get to that later.

* * *

Ugh... that chapter was... Ew. Whatever. Hoped you enjoyed it anyway. :DD Tune in next time to find out what her other option is!


	2. Methane

I've got Chapter 2 ready! This one's better by miles, I think. And I realized that I started a ton of plotholes in Chapter 1, so I'm going to update it later. And now that I have a plot laid out, things should fall together much more smoothly. And there's Gwevin in this, just a warning. ;)

Also, I have a question: If you could describe Nicky's personality in three words, what would they be? I need to know what you think of her.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything! 'Cept Nicky.**

* * *

"Let me get this straight. You're either insane or going through involuntary past life regression?"

I nodded nervously. Sure, she was my best friend, but admitting something like that to anyone would make most people flush red. I was no exception. "Most likely the past life thing."

Gwen, the most reasonable, realistic, down-to-earth person I knew, had only this to say- "That makes sense." I wanted to drop my jaw through the floor.

"You honestly think that?" I breathed.

"Well, sure," she replied. "Why not? Reincarnation is a viable possibility. It would explain your feelings towards those figures. Maybe they were your friends, or your parents even. And then there's the weird language…"

I tried to listen, I really did, but the shock of it all was overwhelming. I leaned back in my chair, absentmindedly watching her words go in one ear and out the other. My head was buzzing with the idea of me being in a situation like that, or those things being my parents, or me being something other than human at any time at all. But the most daunting thing of all was that when one of these popped into my head, my gut response was "whatever." Like it wasn't a big deal.

It took me a while to realize that she had stopped talking, and even longer to see her hand waving in front of my face. I shook my head and blinked a few times.

"Maybe this isn't the best time," I figured. "Let's talk about this later after it settles in a bit."

She nodded in agreement and hit the monitor's power button, signaling that it was over for now. "Come on, I think we need some breakfast."

---

Monday. Last day before finals. Last period of the day. That was time of the quietest study I have ever attended.

Almost everyone, even the most talkative of the grade, had their faces buried in textbooks and notes. This was the test that not even the smartest student could afford to skip studying for. And the ones who weren't reviewing, the ones who don't care enough or would fail no matter what they got, were so affected by the serious air that they couldn't utter a word to their friends. I was thankful, for I was having a ton of trouble with ancient Greek mythology, and I personally have trouble focusing on the birth of Athena with an army of stuck-up idiots snorting behind me.

My hand moved across the page, working at about the pace of my snail brain. I kept zoning out, then finding that Zeus's father was named Krosnahisl. According to what I wrote, anyway.

_Come on, Nicky, _I thought, shaking my head. _Get your head in the game!_

I wasn't sure if I stopped moving or not. In fact, I didn't even know if I was still sitting. Because at that moment my sense of touch completely shut down. I couldn't feel any part of my body, nor move at all. I panicked, but I showed no signs on the outside. From what I heard and saw, I was still sitting, stiff as a board.

My hearing went next. I was suddenly encased in a cocoon of silence. I couldn't feel or hear my heart pounding. It didn't feel right; I was supposed to have a racing heart. But I didn't even know if it was still beating.

Then it was smell and taste, then color, than everything else. I was surrounded by pure nothing. And, even though it felt nearly endless, all that happened in less than a second. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything at all. Then a voice- my voice- pierced the silence. "Am I dead?"

And to my surprise, a voice answered back. "Well, no, but you were close."

I realized that my eyes were closed, so I forced them open. Above me was a vast expanse of white, cut by rows and columns of even rivets. _Crap,_ I thought. _I know this place._ I turned my head to the side, and saw a glass wall with a section of a light pink hallway behind it. It was official- I was in Methane.

"V?" I called out. I knew the lines. But what I really didn't know was what the other creature in the dream, who I called V, was about to say in this version.

"Yes?" she replied. In plain English. I wanted to gape, but I couldn't.

"What happened?" I asked, also in English. Everything was being translated, I realized.

"You were caught in the crossfire down on Generis and got your leg shot off, so I brought you back to my ship," she explained.

"What crossfire?" I cried, trying to sit up. My leg burned, causing me to yowl in pain and fall back. I knew this part to well. She put her warm, purple hand on my chest, the only part of her body I had ever seen. Something washed over me, and I felt sudden relief from the pain, but not my anger.

"You don't remember, do you, Mythene?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "Well, I'll just have to explain, then. Your after party had just started when bounty hunters attacked. We managed to keep it from them, but at a price." My dream brain knew what she meant, but I sure didn't. I was focused on Methane, the word is that stood out in this dream for all these years,

I banged a fist on the bed, nearly breaking it in two. "I never should have invited the Galvin!" I spat. "That invention of his brings nothing but trouble. So who sent the bounty hunters?"

I didn't need to look to know she was frowning. "I think you know."

I sat in my desk, staring at the worksheet, filled with dread from V's comment. I only realized that my vision was over when I heard footsteps break the studious silence. When I looked to the door, all I saw was the bottom of Gwen's crutch disappearing behind the frame. _Oh, right. I should tell Gwen._

I rushed out the door, not bothering to look out for teachers. Down the hall, right, down some more, and there were the bathrooms. I caught her by the shoulder right before she entered. She whirled her head around, startled.

"Um, hi Nicky," she said, failing to keep her voice level. "Can this wait a minute?" she kept glancing at the lady's room door- I got the message. I gestured to let her go; this would give me some time to think. She hurried in without another word.

By the time she got back, I still hadn't come up with a not-crazy way to put it.

"So, what's up?" she asked, cheery again.

I pulled her to the side, bringing us into the same obscure hallway where she wanted to make a break for it. The day the monsters attacked. It crossed my mind that the it should be renamed "Gwen and Nicky's Hallway for Telling Each Other Weird Stuff," but I shook it off. I needed to focus.

"I know this sounds totally crazy, but I just had some kind of vision," I admitted.

"Really?" She sounded intrigued. "What did you see?"

"Well, it was Methane."

"The one with the person with the purple hand?"

"Yep." She had been filled in days ago.

She shifted her weight from one crutch to the other. "Was there anything different this time?"

"Yeah, actually. It was all translated into English."

And I thought I had her complete attention before. Now she leaned forward, totally mystified. "What were they saying?"

"The other person was named V, and she told me that I had just gotten caught in a crossfire after some kind of party and nearly lost my leg. V mentioned a Galvin, whatever that is, and apparently the fight was its fault. Because of something it brought. No clue what it was, though."

She gaped at me for a few seconds. Then she let out a quick, nervous laugh. "Well, I think we better get back to class before the bell rings. Come on!" She grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me along. I didn't fight it, since she was right about getting back to class, but I raised an eyebrow. She was… out of character, for lack of a better term. I usually ignore things like this, but not this time. I'd give myself the afternoon to think, then I'd ask her. Tomorrow.

---

Kevin stopped futzing with the engine of his new car and looked at Ben for the first time since he got there. "Alright, what do you want?"

"What I want is for you to drive me and Julie to Mr. Smoothie," he replied. "You promised."

"Back when I had my old car." He patted the hood of his new dark green baby. "Besides, I'm not driving this one around until it's in tip top condition. Can't you reschedule for next week or something?"

"Next week!" Ben snapped. "Do you know what we've had to go though to get some descent smoothies lately? We either walked the whole two miles there or had to ride a bus. And Julie's getting really sick of it. Who knows what she'll do if we can't tonight!"

"You could-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Gwen burst in. She looked fine, but there was something a tiny bit odd. She walked right over to Kevin (completely ignoring Ben), smiled, and asked, "Do you know anything about a planet called Generis?"

Kevin glanced over at Ben, who gave him a shrug. "Not really. Only that it got blown up about fifteen years ago."

"Oh," she replied, disappointed.

"I could look it up for you," he said. "Why do you want to know, anyway?"

"I heard about it somewhere," she answered. "Anyway, thanks."

"No problem."

As they stood there, smiling at each other, Ben tried to contemplate why they wouldn't just ask each other out. They were definitely into each other. They've known each other long enough. And it's not like anyone they knew thought that they were still "just friends". _They'll come around eventually, _he thought. He leaned against the wall, wishing he had a smoothie to sip.

* * *

Chapter 3 is next! :D (I like restating the obvious. ^^)


	3. Demise

Hello and welcome. This is where it starts getting crazy. :] This one's a bit shorter than the others. And as a note- Yeah, yeah, I know it's spelled Galvan now. You can stop bugging me. :P I thought I fixed it though... I'll get back to that. But I spelled it right in this one.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. 'Cept Nicky. (I need to find some more creative disclaimers... I'm boring myself. xD)**

* * *

Jealousy. That was all I could feel at that moment.

Gwen hadn't arrived yet, and the time we had for test taking was already two thirds of the way over. She was probably in the car or at the hospital, enjoying a last minute cram session while she's wide awake and a cast-less foot. I, on the other hand, was stuck here, half asleep, waiting for the session to end so I could get on with my life. Science was my best subject, plus the test was pretty easy, so I finished in a (relative) flash. For the next half hour, I was stuck at my desk with nothing to do but read a book. And the one I had wasn't worth crap.

Now you see why I was envious.

I slammed it shut and loudly as possible without disturbing the class. I couldn't care less if that idiot got shot or not. A string of curses ran though my head, and I subtly mouthed one or two of them. You can't blame me, though- I was insanely bored and I had a bad week. Plus, I had the third recurring dream, Demise, which always put me in a bad mood.

I stared ahead of me with blank, unfocused eyes, matching the state of my mind perfectly. I felt like I was halfway between being awake and total mental shutdown, which was really kind of nice. Staying in that state for thirty minutes wouldn't be a challenge.

Then, a frame from my dream wandered into my minds eye, ruining the feeling. Because the Universe hates me like that.

A baby barf green figure, about a foot shorter than me and fuzzed out by dream physics, was holding a large gun-like object to my chest. I took advantage to study it a bit more. I found the trigger, obscured by its claw-like finger. I looked at the gun head, and noticed the green energy gathering inside it. It was official- he totally shot me.

As it faded, my own anger and curiosity began to bubble up inside me. I felt the dire need to know who killed me, why, and how I could get revenge. But getting revenge at a guy in a dream isn't possible, that made me even angrier. I clenched my teeth and squeezed me kneecaps, praying that I wasn't making a scene. Then instinct took over, and I stopped worrying about that.

I relaxed, my face going blank, and placed my head in my arms. I only had one goal in mind- I was going to soul search until I found him out. The small part of my brain that wasn't obsessed with the whole "who dun it?" mystery was shouting, "What are you, crazy? You don't know how to do this! Stop it!" That section was promptly ignored, since it was totally wrong. I did know what to do.

I remembered the sensation of going into the vision the day before. I replayed it over and over again, feeling my body disappear and reappear again. The more I did it, the better it felt. I repeated the process until I was glad to be rid of my body, and stayed numb.

Up next was the hearing. It took about three redoes before I was comfortable with the silence.

Smell and taste I didn't even have to work for. I think my subconscious helped me out and gave them the boot.

Giving up color was probably the hardest and most traumatizing. And by traumatizing, I mean the equivalent of giving your little brother an ugly old stuffed animal that you only played with once during your childhood. Grayscale sight followed the color with only a moments rest. In almost no time at all, I was suspended again.

Rather than panicking, which I didn't feel the need to do, I focused on one word: _Demise. _I painted a picture of the first frame, adding every fuzzy detail I could remember, wishing with all my heart I could understand them. And then the picture went into motion, just as I planned.

"You don't have to do this."

The thing scowled, his yellow-blotched tentacles swaying a bit. "I gave you a choice, join me or die. You chose die."

"I mean you don't have to keep hunting the Omnitrix!" I grunted. "Look at what it's already turned you into. Do you need any more damage?"

I gestured to one of his legs. It was mostly a thick, metal skeleton, with blood red muscle and dull green skin slowly growing over it. He grunted in return.

"A minor setback. It will heal. You, on the other hand, will not." He pointed and two flying disks with claws shot over. Before I could react, I was pinned against the wall of a bright red building. I struggled, but it was no use.

"Are you sure you do not want to join us?" he asked again. I shook my head, refusing to speak.

He held the gun to my chest. "You will regret that," he said. He glared at me with all the evil he could muster, but I saw through it. His tone gave it away. He didn't want to do this. His finger pressed against the trigger, and the firearm began to charge. And then, right before he annihilated me, he said two final words.

"Goodbye, Mother."

---

Gwen threw her backpack onto an empty worktable and walked over to Kevin, who was totally absorbed in his engine. She leaned over it beside him, gave up on figuring out what he was doing, and looked over at him. He still hadn't realized she was there. "Hi Kevin," she said.

"Hey Gwen." He didn't look up, but he did glance at her foot. "So you finally got the cast off?"

"Yep," she chirped. "That cast is long gone. So, what's the hurry?"

That stopped him. He shoved his tools to the side and looked her in the eye. "Actually, I've got some pretty bad news."

"Maybe we should wait for Ben…"

"I already told him," he interrupted. "I don't know where he is, but he's freaking out."

Suddenly the chorus of Gives You Hell filled the room, muffled by her pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked at the caller ID. Nicky.

"Can it wait a few minutes?" she asked. "I have to take this." Kevin just shrugged, so she thanked him and dashed outside.

"Hey Nicky!"

"Gwen, I think I've figured it out. They definitely are past life memories of some kind."

"I thought so." She couldn't help but smile.

"I had another vision after the science test," she continued. "Apparently I was murdered by my own son."

Her smile faded. "That's horrible!"

"Tell me about it. Anyway, afterwards, a name just appeared in my head. I think it's his name."

"What was it?"

She paused, like she was deciding how to pronounce it. What she said next totally shattered Gwen's mind.

"Vilgax."

Nicky's voice disappeared as Gwen unconsciously flipped the phone shut. She couldn't care less about hanging up on her, though. Nicky was Vilgax's mom. She felt like she was going to pass out.

"It could be any Vilgax," she muttered to herself with false hope. "It could be a common name." But the chances that there was a different Vilgax who was ruthless enough to kill his own mother were next to none. This just wasn't right. She heard some spoken words from somewhere near her, but the pure wrong-ness drowned it out.

"Vilgax," she repeated under her breath. "Vilgax." It didn't matter how many times she said it, that wasn't going to get any less freaky.

"Oh," Kevin (who was apparently the one who spoke earlier) said. "I guess Ben already told you."

She looked up, her eyes still blank. "What?"

He looked almost as confused as she felt. "Wait, wha…"

"Let's just start over," she said, pushing Nicky's news to the back of her mind. "What's the bad news?"

"Vilgax's been sighted around the star Pyros," he explained. "He's heading to Galvan Prime. We're supposed to stop him before he gets there."

Gwen buried her face in her hands, leaning so low that her red hair almost touched the grass. "Could this day get any worse?" she moaned.

Let's just say that for once, it couldn't. But the rest of the week was fair game.

* * *

Tune in next time!

**Up next-- CHAPTER 4: V**


	4. V

If you thought I couldn't twist this plot into more of a pretzel, you were 110% WRONG. :D

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but OCs, especially Nicky/Mythene. If you steal them, I will sue. xD**

* * *

Beth's cup clanked against mine, but while plastic cups don't supply the same sound as a glass, we were still satisfied. We took a swig of the bluish purple fruit juice/soda concoction we had thrown together and spit it out into the cups, laughing. It tasted like my mom's shampoo.

"Fail," Rachael announced as we spat the last wads of drink-infested saliva, which is really hard when you're laughing like a hyena. But before we reports our findings, someone tapped on Rachael's shoulder. Mr. Reedy, our science teacher.

"What exactly are you three doing?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Science experiment," I chuckled.

Beth pointed to Rachael, who held her clipboard out to him. "We have a data table and everything," she said.

He scanned the data table, finally deeming it worth of a passing grade. He nodded. "Nice work, girls." With that, he turned around and lumbered off to monitor the rest of the end-of-year party. We made triumphant noises and hi-fived.

She asked again for our observations, and we were interrupted again. But this time it was Yanlin, someone we were happy to see. We were about to greet her, but she started talking right away.

"Hey guys, have you seen Gwen anywhere? I can't find her, and she was acting really strange this morning…" she skidded to a stop, her beginning courage fading and her quiet nature taking over again. But we had heard enough.

"She was avoiding me in homeroom today," I added. "And I was talking on the phone with her yesterday. She was fine at first, then she hung up all of a sudden."

"Maybe it was something you said," Beth suggested, not sounding like she was accusing me.

"It was just the name of…" I paused. The last thing I wanted to tell them was 'It was just the name of my murderous son in a past life'. Not the best plan with this crowd. "The name of this character in a book. Vilgax."

Yeah, I lied. To their faces. Aren't I a great friend?

Everyone glanced at everyone else. But we weren't confused or angry; we were just worried. Last time Gwen acted strange and detached, the cafeteria was invaded by monsters and she got her leg snapped in half. Hopefully you understand our concern.

"You think we should talk to her?" Rachael asked.

"No," I replied. "I think it's best if we stay out of this." I was probably going to get involved anyway, though.

---

"Well, that sucks."

"I know," Gwen sighed. "I'm really sorry. I wish I could."

"Yeah, alright," I said. "And about yesterday…"

"Yes?"

"I'm really sorry. I'm not sure what, but whatever made you hang up. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Although I didn't know it, she shuddered, remembering that conversation. "No, it's fine. It wasn't your fault. I was just… Overreacting to something. Well, bye."

"Bye." I hung up and huffed. There went my only friend who was willing to help me with Joey's party. I was on my own with those six year old devils. I barely survived last year with her there- her martial art skills were the only thing standing between me and the piñata stick. I would have been scared for my life if I wasn't so worried about what Gwen had gotten herself into this time.

"Hey, Nick!" my mom called from the kitchen. "Run over to the gas station and get some paper plates, will you? I'm a bit busy."

I obliged immediately, glad for something to do other than sit and worry. I wandered over to the door and grabbed my coat out of habit. The walk to the gas station was about half a mile, so I thought I might as well. I went out the front door, circled around back, and began to trek through the desert behind the line of oak trees. This wasn't the way to the nearest gas station, and not the quickest to my new destination, but what Mom didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Even after all the times I had gone this way, the beauty of the desert at sunset took my breath away. The sun, a huge, shimmering orb of heat perched on the horizon, radiated bright, fiery colors- orange, pink, yellow, all stretching off into the dark red sky. The rocks and shrubs cast long shadows on the ground, turning the earth black.

I casually strolled along, admiring the natural splendor, feeling more at home than I ever have at my house. It was always this way, and it always made my stomach flutter with relief. I never knew why, but at that moment I realized that I must have been some sort of desert monster in my past life.

But before I could ponder that notion, something caught my eye. Someone, actually.

I mostly saw her shadow, but I could tell it was a woman. An old one, based on her hair color, but that contradicted the speed she was walking. She was going backwards, probably enjoying the sunset as much as I was. _Might as well say hi, _I thought, jogging over.

"Hi," I greeted. She stopped and turned, and for the first time I got to see her face. She was definitely old, but not too old. If she had grandchildren, they probably couldn't talk yet. She was wearing some purple robe-sundress thing that looked suspiciously like something out of the 70s. But she looked familiar. Really familiar. I felt like I was meeting my roommate from college for the first time in 50 years, when I was having memory problems.

She looked just as confused, with one eye squinted slightly and her jaw slack. She asked the question before I even considered asking. "Do I know you?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I think. I'm pretty sure I know you from somewhere, but-"

She cut me off, and somehow I wasn't surprised. "Does the word Mythene mean anything to you?"

I nodded. How in the world did she know my old name?

"Are you Mythene?"

_DON'T TELL HER! _my human mind screamed. But I only half obliged- she was probably going to figure it out by my next comment.

"V?"

The woman smiled. "You got me, My."

I smiled back. "Well, now that we know who's who, would you mind telling me what kind of relationship we had, you know, way back when? Because I don't remem-"

"That could be easily fixed," she chirped, interrupting me again. I was used to it before she even started, so it didn't matter.

She lifted a finger and placed it on my forehead. My first thought, the Mythene thought, was _crap, she's going to mess with my mana again. _My Nicky thoughts responded accordingly- _What the-_

That thought never finished. All of a sudden, my life started flashing before my eyes. And by life, I mean my other life. Every single moment where V and I were together bubbled up into my mind and lodged itself into my conscious memory. Here's the brief outline:

I was born on the planet Generis as a Chimera Sue Generis, and at the age of 1 was sent to an intergalactic playgroup thing. There I met V, who's real name was Verdona, who was still learning to control her super-awesome mana (life force) powers, which Anodites had plenty of. Because Anodine and Generis were in neighboring solar systems, we were able to go to the alien equivalent of high school together. We hung out every day she wasn't playing hooky, unless I was too. After we had live 110 earth years, but were only 20 in alien years, we took up the wonderful pastime of matchmaking, where we flew across the galaxy and made sure all those loose romantic ends left by high school were tied up. I somehow managed to become a senator on my planet and, while we were still the best of friends, we didn't matchmake all that much anymore. Then I got killed at the age of 293 Earth years by my own son and was reincarnated as an earthling girl.

And I figured all that out in about three seconds.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like I just got hit by all the bricks in the Washington Monument," I replied immediately. The speed that I thought that up surprised me, but not nearly as much as everything else.

She smiled. "At least you have a bit of your wit," she said in a singsong voice.

"And you still rhyme all the time," I retorted. We both burst into hysterics. I felt better than I ever have while hanging out with someone- Rachael, Beth, Yanlin, and I admit, even Gwen. Then again, I've known her almost 20 times as long as I've been living. It's only natural that we share a better bond than someone I've known for five years.

"Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do," she said, a playful glint in her eye. We sat ourselves on a long rock, and we started talking. And boy, did we talk.

---

"You'll need this." Kevin gave both Ben and Gwen a basic energy rifle.

"Are you sure they'll let us put this in our carry-on?" Ben joked, twirling it once or twice in his hand. Gwen pocketed the gun with the same uneasy silence she had whenever the mission came up.

"You okay?" Kevin asked her, hiding most of his worry.

"Well, has it ever occurred to you that Vilgax didn't rise from some bottomless pit of despair?" she said. "He must have had parents or something."

Ben held in a groan. A lot of the time he thought she emphasized a bit too much with mothers. "Come on, Gwen, he's Vilgax. Just because one alien would miss him doesn't mean we should let him blow up planets."

"And chance are he's an orphan," Kevin added. "His parents wouldn't have missed him, anyway. If my kid ended up like that, I'd be pissed."

"Kevin," said Ben, "_you _almost ended up like that!"

"And my stepdad was pissed," he replied. "Only proves my point."

"Oh, never mind!" she snapped. The command was less to them and more to herself. She couldn't stop thinking about Nicky, or the fact that she was Vilgax's mother. And the fact that she would have to battle and possibly kill her best friend's son… She just couldn't stand to face her.

"I'm going home," she announced, storming out of the garage, ignoring the quizzical stares that followed her. She had some hard thinking to do.

---

"No way, he didn't!" I squealed.

"Oh yes he did," she bubbled, "and he still hasn't recovered from the broken tail she gave him afterwards!"

We guffawed at the stupidity of it all. Breaking up (not to mention going out) with that Tetramand was a horrible move on his part. I'm not sure what, but something about that story reminded me to ask the question that had bugged me the whole time.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked after we calmed down a little.

"Well, I'm coming to visit my granddaughter," she explained causally.

I gaped at her in disbelief. "You fell in love with a human? You had _kids _with a human?"

"I never said there was more than one."

I raised an eyebrow.

"But I never said there wasn't either."

"How many?"

"Two."

"And even with all that Anodite blood in their veins they managed to live long enough to have kids without dying of some mutation disorder thing."

She nodded.

"Ah," I said, acting as if that cleared everything up. Of course, it didn't.

"She has her fathers eyes," she mused, either unaware of or ignore my incredulity.

"Can I meet her?" I asked.

She somehow became even perkier with this question. "Why, of course!" She leapt to her feet. "We better get going before she leaves." She held out her hand, and I grasped it, ready for the jump.

There was a flash, and suddenly we were in front of a light blue door. I totally knew that door, but the craziness of everything had turned my brain into a pile of mush. My gaze drifted to the top right corner as V rang the doorbell, and I saw the house number: 135. Something in my mind started clicking, but before I could get a straight answer, my eyes answered it for me. What I saw in those visions was nothing compared to this; I felt like I got bonked in the back of the head my Mount Everest.

Standing in the doorway was a very, very confused Gwen.

* * *

This one was fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read. I also hope that I've scarred you for life. 8D Stay tuned!

**Next time: Chapter 5- I Have No Clue What I'm Naming This Chapter Yet**


	5. Meetings

Sorry it took so long. I had writers block, and then this huge English project that demanded all my attention. D: At least I got it done eventually. This chapter is proof that I suck at third person. But 1st I'm good at. (See the very end for an example.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 Alien Force, or any of the characters but Nicky, yada yada blah blah blah. **

* * *

Gwen first glanced over at me. "Nicky?" Her tone was full of confusion, but her face made it pretty obvious she wasn't too glad to see me. She turned to V and confirmed all my fears in one word: "Grandma?"

"Kiddo!" Verdona shouted, attacking her with a hug that would make a boa constrictor cry for mommy. She just took it, her face twisted into a pained half-smile.

"Hey, Verdona," she grunted. I bit my bottom lip, suppressing laughter. By the time they separated, I had already buckled over a bit and snorted. She blushed and pulled me off to the side.

"Sorry about my grandma," she whispered. "She can be a little…"

"Eccentric?" I guessed. "Impulsive? Psychotic?"

"Yeah. That."

I made one of those split second decisions to tell her. "Why didn't you tell me your grandma was V?"

I have no idea how she kept herself from passing out right then and there.

Verdona invited herself in, throwing herself on the dark red couch.

"May I come in?" I asked Gwen quite loudly, eyeing Verdona. She nodded with a blank face; I wasn't sure she knew what I said. I entered, turned around, exited, grabbed her by the wrist, and dragged her inside, and sat both of us next to Verdona.

"So let me get this straight," she stammered, her voice high in panic. "You, Nicky, my best friend, were best friends with Verdona, my grandma, in a past life?"

"Yep," we said simultaneously.

She cupped her face in her hands. "This cannot be happening," she groaned weakly. I finally realized that my now known old identity was clouding my judgment. How could I not predict telling her all this would make her feel like crap? I find out this totally insane, and possibly life-changing connection between us, and I threw it out there without any regard for her feelings. I felt like a total jerk.

Verdona switched places so she was next to her and put her arm around her neck. "Come on, Gwendolyn, its not _that _odd," she said. "It's been proven that beings who have direct contact with an Anodite are twice as likely to remember something of their past life. I was with her in total more than anyone else in the universe- I was positive she would remember something."

"But it's not just that!" she cried out into her hands. She looked up at me, looking very stricken and uneasy. "It's about your… Uh, er…" She restarted. "It's about Vilgax."

I nodded.

She winced, like she wanted me to say something else. Maybe 'I don't need to know, so don't tell me'. "Well, you see… When I was ten, I went on this road trip with Ben and Grandpa Max, and Ben found this thing called the Omnitrix." It was that thing Vilgax wanted in Demise, but I didn't know what exactly it was.

"Its this alien device that lets him turn into a bunch of different aliens superheroes," she continued. "He was all those heroes on the news back then. Vilgax came to Earth and tried to get it from us, but…"

"You beat him up?" I guessed.

"Well, yeah, we beat him up a few times. And trashed his robots on a daily basis. And threw him in the Null Void, which is this-" Before she could define it, I nodded to her. I knew what that was. She looked away and continued. "And then Ben threw him in space after he got out of that…" She sounded more and more guilty with each word.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Gwen," I giggled. "Actually, thanks for doing all that. You and Ben gave him the punishment he deserves that I never would have the guts to dish out. His robots killed millions of innocents, he's blown up at least five planets by now and enslaved more, and he murdered his own mother. I think he had all that coming." That wasn't the complete truth. Even as I spoke, I kept feeling little pangs of sadness from all that happening to my baby. But the logic I spurted out made it better.

She looked a bit relieved, but confused too. "So you know about all of that, and the Null Void… Does that mean you remember everything?"

"Only the parts that V was in," I replied. "She dug them out with mana." I glanced over at Verdona to she how she was doing. She was just sitting there, waiting patiently for me to finish. She never showed this much self-control; I figured it was a side effect of parenting. But then I saw what she was doing, and realized she wasn't controlling herself at all.

"So you know what mana is," she sighed with relief.

_Now you don't have to explain what you're going to shoot from your hands, _I predicted. But I replied, "enough to know that V's possessing your bro's hamster."

She whirled around, her expression filled with so much fake surprise I had to suppress a chuckle. "I am not!" she gasped.

I pointed to the hamster cage, where the black and white ball of fur stared at us, it's eyes glowing bright pink.

Gwen made some confused noises. "Grandma!" she finally shouted. "Let him go!"

Verdona gave in and snapped her finger. It collapsed on the floor of the cage, snoring softly.

"So, do you have anything else to tell me," I urged.

"Well, I'm the only one in my family who inherited Anodite powers," she admitted.

Ouch. "That's cool. And sucky."

"Yeah. Anyway, I think you better go. Ben and Kevin are going to be here at nine."

I looked at the clock. 9:01. I tapped Gwen on the shoulder and pointed. She, in return, panicked. But just as she stood up, the door swung open and the boys invited themselves in.

"Hey Gwen, how's the pack-" Kevin stopped mid sentence when he saw them all on the couch. "Why are you here?" he said suddenly, looking at Verdona. Then he turned to me. "And who the heck are you?"

"What's going on?" Ben asked from the doorway, where he was trying to get his coat untangled for the doorknob (how he managed to get it tangled, I'll never know). He finally did it and turned around, noticing the ladies for the first time. "Whoa, Nicky? Verdona? What's going on?"

"So, you're Nicky," Kevin said to me.

"And you're Kevin."

He nodded. I nodded. We both looked at Gwen. She still looked really frazzled, like she almost got run over by a truck. His lip twitched.

"Gwen, are you okay?" Ben asked, not even trying to hide his worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Kind of," she added, under her breath.

"Could someone tell me why you guys are here?" Kevin asked.

"I came to teach Gwen a few mana tricks before she left," Verdona answered, without appearing to give any thought to the fact I was in the room. Gwen gaped at her and made an exasperated sound. I couldn't tell if she was acting or not.

Either way, I started to. I glanced at Verdona, looking confused and uncomfortable, then turned back to the boys. Ben was doing the same thing as Gwen, but Kevin was glaring at her.

"Maybe it's best if I leave you guys alone," I said hesitantly, standing up. "Besides, I have to buy a few things." No one argued as I made a beeline for the door and walked outside. I wasn't sure, but they might have looked a bit relieved.

I continued down the walkway, but I stopped at the end. Why was I leaving? That was all supposed to be an act. It was an act. There was more I wanted to know, even needed to know, and I wasn't about to loose this chance. In seconds, I was crouched outside the window, peeking out from behind a tree, snooping.

---

"Here's the deal," Kevin said, laying a map down on the coffee table. As he spoke, he pointed to the location on the map. "We're here in Bellwood. Cooper lives that way, and the ship's going to pick us up way over here."

"Who's picking us up?" Gwen interrupted.

"We're getting to that. Anyway, the tech Cooper's whipping up won't be ready in time for us to get to the ship from his house in my car."

"I could Jetray-"

"Not gonna work," he cut Ben off. "Jetray can't carry it all."

"Ship?" she suggested.

"Nah," Ben said. "Knowing Julie, she'll want to come with us. I don't think I can turn that down a second time."

Verdona jumped into the conversation. "Gwen'll do it!"

Three heads turn to her. "What?" Gwen shouted.

"Come on, Gwen, it's a great training exercise!" she argued. "I would have killed to do something like this when I was your age. Besides, I'll watch you and give you advice the whole time."

She didn't believe that, but she gave in. "Fine. I'll get an early start, go pick the tech up from Cooper, and we'll rendezvous at the landing site."

Ben and Kevin glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Gwen and Cooper, alone, in Coopers lab… Well, Verdona might be there, but she'll probably encourage the situation. Kevin was about to shout out in protest, but Ben put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a "Dude, we don't a choice" look.

"So, who's flying us, anyway?" Gwen asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Azmuth hooked us up with a Petrosapian," Kevin replied. "He was really eager to give us a ride. Calls himself Tetrax Shard."

The cousins exchanged a giddy smile. He frowned, confused.

"You don't know him, do you?" Ben said.

"Nope."

"He's a bounty hunter we ran into a few times when we were ten," he explained. "He's a great guy. He helped us out when the Omnitrix was on self-destruct. And his pilot Gluto saved Gwen's life when she almost got eaten by Wildvines."

(At that moment, Verdona hoisted herself up and silently excused herself to the bathroom. No one noticed.)

Kevin nodded. "Anyway, I know this is short notice, but we're leaving tomorrow night."

Gwen gaped at him. "Tomorrow? Seriously? We don't even have someone to take our place!" She didn't say it, but she was worried about Nicky. What if Vilgax detoured and came to Earth? She was afraid of how he would react to finding out that his mom was reincarnated as an Earthling girl and was best friends with his arch enemy's cousin. Knowing him, he would probably kill her.

"That's where you're wrong," he replied. "I already talked to Helen and Manny. We've already got Alan and robot boy."

"And Julie!" Ben added.

"And Julie. Unless some alien empire decides to blow up Earth while we're gone, I'd say we're set."

"We'll meet tomorrow at noon," Gwen decided. "Kevin's place."

"Well, now that you three are done, there's no reason for the boys to stay here," Verdona said, seeming to pop out of nowhere. "Run along now."

Ben and Kevin obeyed, exiting without a word. They didn't want to mess with an Anodite. No one ever does.

"Come on, Gwendolyn." She wrapped her arm around her granddaughter's neck and led her to the back door. "We've got some training to do."

---

I trudged down the sidewalk, a bag of paper plates from Gwen's kitchen in hand. V gave them to me while she was "going to the bathroom," which really meant "walking into the kitchen, grabbing some plates, teleporting outside, talking to me, and poofing back in like nothing happened." I'm surprised they didn't notice, especially since Anodites constantly emit waste through their skin. Thank God that waste is just old mana, or she would have been way less popular in high school than she was.

I looked at my watch. 9:15. The party was going to start in thirty minutes. Mom was going to kill me for being out that late. I'll just tell her I met up with an old friend on the way. Then I would have to lie.

_What kind of twisted mother would let their seven-year-old son have a party at this hour? _I thought, trying to distract myself. But my mind was still on what V told me to do.

It was insane. It was immature. It was crazy dangerous. It was the stupidest idea I had ever heard. Every rational part of my brain was screaming not to do it. But I was done with rational. Rational was boring.

I was going to do it.

And I was _pumped. _


End file.
